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Sep 30, 2016Blank Face stalls near its end with pedestrian raps and an awkward R&B crossover bid, but when Q locks into the streetwise grooves of "Dope Dealer" and the lush psychedelia of "That Part," he hints at the masterpiece he came tantalizingly close to making.
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Aug 16, 2016Influenced by many but perhaps literally fathered by none, ScHoolboy Q remains an intriguing enigma whose ambitions presently know less limits than Percy Miller.
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Aug 10, 2016Blank Face is occasionally too indulgent for his own good, as he also follows trap and net-soul trends in awkward fashion, but the amount of genuine, larger-than-life parables continue to expose an artist who still wrestles with his hard-knock past.
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Aug 3, 2016This sprawling, cumbersome, and often psychedelic effort feels like a glorious clearing house for the diverse and deep rapper, offering giant, cinematic, and challenging efforts.
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Jul 26, 2016Q is as distinct and powerful a voice in hip-hop as Kendrick, and he manages to bring the likes of Kanye West, Swizz Beatz, Anderson .Paak, and Vince Staples to Figg St. on one of the year’s best rap albums thus far. The only real dissonance here comes on Miguel collaboration “Overtime.”
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Jul 21, 2016Blank Face is one of the strongest, most consistently enjoyable in years, even if its glossy and misanthropic merits falls just shy of GOAT status.
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Jul 18, 2016Blank Face is a joyride of a listen.
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Jul 18, 2016Blank Face LP isn’t Schoolboy Q’s first great album, but it’s the first one where he lives up to his utmost potential.
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Jul 15, 2016It’s not easy to homogenize the opposing forces at play, but everything here feels like a genuine rumble through a mind scarred and inebriated by the reality of gang life and chasing the American dream while the room spins.
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Jul 14, 2016Blank Face turns away from the ambitious fusion of To Pimp a Butterfly, instead doubling down on a smoked-out atmosphere that points the listener’s focus toward rapping. That puts the onus on Q to hold attention for the duration of the record’s hour-plus running time, and he does so.
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Jul 13, 2016Q might appear masked on the album cover, but his explicit tales of hardship, prosperity and loss hide nothing.
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Jul 13, 2016At 72 minutes, Blank Face does sometimes sag under its own ambition. ... But with an impressive range of sonic and lyrical styles and numerous highlights, Blank Face LP stands as one of 2016’s most engaging rap projects.
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Jul 12, 2016It’s hard and sinister like a gangster rap album, but it’s also sprawling and even psychedelic at times. Nothing else sounds like it, and that’s a joy to behold.
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Jul 11, 2016Q rhymes in a cool, clipped style that can break into a remorseful groan or a higher-pitched desperation. Digi+Phonics, Black Hippy's go-to production crew, handle most of the beats, which are plush with sumptuous, weed-hazy pleasures but steeped in a dank, justifiable paranoia.
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Jul 11, 2016Blank Face LP is ultimately an unfocused album, one caught between reportage and repugnant opportunism.
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Jul 11, 2016Overall, Blank Face LP has enough meat to warrant several satisfying helpings.
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Jul 11, 2016Blank Face LP could’ve cut some fat from its 72-plus minutes and 17 tracks, especially since some songs cover the same ground. However, as a whole, Blank Face LP is a victory not only for ScHoolboy Q, but for a T.D.E. crew that had seemed to lose momentum outside of its star player.
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Jul 11, 2016Pulling no punches: Blank Face is the second best hip-hop album of 2016 so far, after The Life of Pablo.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 218 out of 246
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Mixed: 20 out of 246
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Negative: 8 out of 246
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Jul 11, 2016This review contains spoilers, click full review link to view.
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Jul 11, 2016Great album from Q yet again, It's a massive improvement over Oxymoron. Lyrically he's better than ever and the production on this album is fantastic.
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Jul 11, 2016